FAR FROM HOME

So much left to do.

Looking around Our Tour we see the progress we’ve made, but also how far we have to go. While we’ve tried to restore many of its ancient features, sometimes in an effort to make it into a modern dwelling we’ve had to forgo others.

Case in point the huge boarded up fireplace that was in the space where our daughter’s room will go. The original idea was to work with it as a charming decorative feature, but the weight it was putting on the floorboards and the space it was taking up made us decide otherwise.

We took the large stone mantel off and placed it in the courtyard. It made such a nice makeshift bench that we’re contemplating later stripping the paint and turning it into a real bench.

When we dismantled the mantle we saw that the side stone pieces that were holding it up were of a lesser newer quality. We took them out too. Further opening up the fireplace we found the vestige of another much older fireplace.

We cleaned out the shoot which was just a mess and then with a heavy heart covered it up with cement blocks. It just wasn’t feasible or practical to restore.

So much to do before Our Tour is inhabitable. The stress is mounting as our goal is to live in it this year!

There are places that we just don’t have the time or money to restore and will have to keep in its grungy state for a while. Like the inside of the tower stairwell. Un jour we will restore the stone masonry like we did to the outside and we’ll recut new stones to fill out the severely worn steps. Un jour. But for now we just have to concentrate on the basics (like heat, hot water and plumbing!).